Revenge of Noir Mask
by Count Morningstar
Summary: Part 2 of the Noir Mask Trilogy. For ten years Noir Mask has served loyally as an elite agent of Team Rocket. But when a tragedy brings her the chance to get revenge on the ones who wronged her, Noir Mask will break those loyalties and go on the war path. Though she may find that getting revenge against a certain person may not be what she truly wants.
1. Alex Dantes Is Dead

**Introduction:** Here we come to the second part of the Noir Mask Trilogy. I've been looking forward to doing this part of the story for quite awhile. A couple of the other Pokemon stories I've done are sort of a setup for this, though Trial of the Phoenix is the setup for something else too. Anyway, this is where things start to come together.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 1: Alex Dantes Is Dead

Marie Dantes awoke from another night of troubled sleep in her Celadon City apartment. She looked at the digital clock on her nightstand. The display read 6:30 AM, not too early yet not too late. Marie sighed to herself after seeing the time, for though she was still tired she knew she could not get back to sleep. Marie had not had a descent night's sleep in twelve years. Though sleep would come for Marie, troubling dreams had always disturbed it.

The black phone on the nightstand suddenly began to ring. Immediately Marie picked it up and answered.

"Agent Noir Mask?" a woman's voice on the other end of the line asked.

"What is it?" Marie asked with a hint of irritation in her voice.

"Uh, I hope I didn't wake you up." The woman's voice said somewhat nervously.

"I just woke up." Marie said impatiently. "Now what do you want?"

"Oh, well Giovanni would like to see you in his office as soon as possible." The woman's voice explained.

"I'll be right there." Marie sighed.

With that, Marie hung up the phone and picked up the other item she kept on the nightstand, a black half mask with light-blue lenses. She slid the mask on and got out of bed. A few minutes later Marie had finished putting on the rest of her outfit, which consisted of a black shirt with a red R on the chest, a short white skirt with a red stripe near the bottom, white gloves and boots, a black cap with a red feather sticking out the right side, and a white cape which covered her left arm. Marie sighed after checking herself in the full-length mirror in her room one last time. Her costume was a constant reminder of the life she had trapped herself in. But it was a life she had to live in order to escape the hell she had been put through.

Thirteen years before, Marie's older cousin Andre framed her a crime she didn't commit and saw to it that she was sent to the living hell that was Scorch Gate Prison. After living two years in that hell, Marie was made an offer by Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket, to join his organization in exchange for an early release. Marie took the offer, but in doing so she had trapped herself in another hell altogether. The only thing that had been keeping Marie going was her burning desire for revenge against Andre and the close friend that had betrayed her, Lisa Flare. Those thirteen years ago when Marie tried to escape after she had been sentenced, Lisa had sold Marie out to the police. And since that time Marie had wanted revenge.

Marie had come close to getting her revenge against Lisa two times. The first was ten years before during a mission to Ecruteak City to capture the Legendary Pokemon known as Ho-Oh. The second time was two months before when Marie had been assigned the mission of capturing a young man known as Alex Blaze. Both times Marie had failed to get her revenge on Lisa. And because she had to perform her duties as a member of Team Rocket, Marie could not afford to go out and hunt Lisa down.

With every part of her costume in place, Marie ventured out of her apartment and went off to see her employer. One ride down the elevator later Marie was in the secret headquarters of Team Rocket in Celadon. As she walked the dimly lit halls to Giovanni's office, many of the Team Rocket members she encountered ran off or whispered among themselves as soon as they saw her. Being the internal affairs agent of Team Rocket had caused many of the other members of the organization to become afraid of her. And Marie had preferred that they were afraid, because she didn't want anything to do with them otherwise.

At last Marie had arrived at the office and was let in by the secretary. When Marie entered, she saw sitting behind the desk a man with slicked back brown hair wearing an orange suit with a red tie. This of course was Giovanni.

"Ah, Noir Mask." Giovanni observed after looking up from a document he was reading. "Prompt as ever I see."

"I came as quickly as I could sir." Marie told her. "What do you want to see me about?"

"I have a different sort of mission for you this time." Giovanni told her. "I'm going on a little trip to the Hoenn Region and I want you along as a bodyguard in case Team Aqua or Team Magma tries anything against me."

"If I may ask sir, why are you going to the Hoenn Region?" Marie inquired.

"Team Rocket has gotten a rather interesting business proposal that requires my personal attention." Giovanni explained. "It seems that the head of the Dantes Corporation, Alex Dantes, has died recently."

Marie was startled greatly by this news, for the man that Giovanni had referred to was her father. Though she was doing a good job of maintaining her composure, Marie felt like she had been kicked in the chest.

"Is something wrong?" Giovanni asked when he noticed Marie's startled reaction.

"Uh, not at all sir." Marie quickly lied.

"As I was saying," Giovanni continued, "with Alex Dantes dead, his nephew, Andre Dantes, has taken over as head of the company. And since his takeover, Andre has contacted us and has offered to make the resources of the Dantes Corporation available to Team Rocket in exchange for a certain piece of technology the research department has been working on."

"I see…" Marie responded. "When do we leave?"

"Our plane leaves tomorrow night at 9:00." Giovanni answered. "Until then perhaps you should take the next two days off. You seem a little out of sorts."

"…Yes, thank you sir." Marie replied.

After being excused by Giovanni, Marie went back up to her apartment. She went into the bedroom, slipped off her mask, and fell to her knees and began sobbing on the foot of the bed. In a flash, two of Marie's Pokemon emerged from their balls, which hung behind Marie's cape. The first was a bipedal fox-like creature that stood at about five feet tall. Its fur was mostly grey, but its upper torso was covered in thick black fur. There was also a large mass of red fur on top of its head that was tied back in a ponytail by a teal orb. The creature also had a pointed snout and ears. This was one of Marie's most loyal Pokemon, Zoroark.

The other Pokemon that had emerged was a shadowy creature that hovered in the air. It had a head of white hair that billowed like a flame and left only a single light-blue eye visible. Around its neck was a red growth that resembled a necklace of large red beads. The rest of its body was black and tattered. This was another of Marie's most loyal Pokemon, Darkrai. The two Pokemon looked at Marie with concern. It was not long before Marie had noticed that they had come out.

"I just learned that my father is dead." Marie told both of them sadly.

Marie continued crying after telling her two Pokemon of the sad news she had received. Just has Zoroark was about to put a clawed hand on Marie's shoulder to try and comfort her, Marie's crying suddenly turned to laughter.

"I also found out something else today." Marie told the two Pokemon with a somewhat insane smile. "I'll be seeing Andre again soon. And soon I'll be able to make him pay for what he did to me."

With that, Marie continued laughing. Both Zoroark and Darkrai looked at each other with troubled expressions over Marie's sudden shift in behavior.

* * *

In another part of the world, Lisa Flare stood on the deck of a boat looking out over the ocean. In the distance the raven-haired girl could see her hometown, Lilycove City.

"Good view, huh?" a voice suddenly asked, snapping Lisa from her thoughts.

Lisa turned around to see a young man in his early twenties with long black hair tied back in a ponytail. The young man was wearing a blue vest over a black t-shirt, and blue jeans. This was Lisa's friend, Ash Ketchum. Perched on Ash's shoulder was a yellow rodent-like creature with long pointed ears with black tips and a tail shaped like a lightning bolt. On its cheeks were large red circles. This was one of Ash's most trusted Pokemon, Pikachu.

There was another Pokemon standing at Ash's side. It stood on its hind legs and resembled a jackal. It had red irises and the fur of its arms, legs, tail, and some of its face was blue, while the fur of its paws was black. There was also a band of black fur around its eyes that made it look as if it was wearing a mask. The fur on the creature's torso was cream-colored and made it look as if it was wearing a shirt. Metal spikes protruded from the creature's chest and the back of the paws on its arms. This was another of Ash's Pokemon, Lucario.

"Sorry, didn't mean to disturb you." Ash told Lisa. "Mind if I join you?"

"It's fine, go ahead." Lisa told him.

"So, how long has it been since you've been back in your old city?" Ash asked as he strolled up next to Lisa.

"About eleven years." Lisa answered, not once taking her eyes off the ocean. "I haven't been back since I first went to Johto…. You know you, Misty, and Bolt didn't have to tag along with me."

"Hey, Professor Oak just happened to ask me and Misty to go run a little errand for him in Lilycove." Ash shrugged. "As for Bolt, he has some gig in Hoenn I guess. It's a total coincidence."

"Uh, huh." Lisa said in a disbelieving tone.

"So why are you coming back to Lilycove after eleven years?" Ash asked.

"My father asked me to." Lisa replied. "He wanted me to attend this funeral, and considering who it was I thought it was only right to attend."

"Who died?" Ash asked.

"…Alex Dantes, my father and he were good friends and business partners for many years." Lisa explained after a moment. "In fact, I was a good friend of Mr. Dantes's daughter, Marie."

"Wait, when we first met ten years ago after you captured Entei, you said you were trying to get over the death of a friend." Ash realized. "That friend wasn't Marie, was it?"

"…I'm going back to my cabin for a bit." Lisa suddenly told him. "This sea air is starting to get to me a bit."

With that, Lisa walked off. Walking past as Lisa left was a young woman with long orange hair wearing a pink jacket, a blue and white-stripped shirt, and a short blue skirt. The young woman tried to say something to Lisa, but Lisa left too fast for her to get a word in.

"Oh, hey Misty." Ash greeted to the young woman. "I thought you were out by the pool."

"Well we're going to be docking soon, so I thought I'd change and see where you were." Misty explained. "What's wrong with Lisa?"

"I guess I brought up some bad memories for her." Ash answered. "We were talking and Lisa brought up an old friend of hers, Marie Dantes. I think that's the close friend of hers that died before she came to Johto."

"Wait, Lisa's dead friend was a girl?" Misty said with a surprised look.

"Yeah, why?" Ash asked.

"Well the night of the day we met her we were talking and her friend came up in conversation." Misty explained. "At the time it seemed like her friend was some boy that she really liked but never had the nerve to tell him how he felt. But maybe I was wrong."

"You might've been reading too much into things." Ash suggested.

"Yeah, maybe…" Misty agreed, though in the back of her mind she wondered if perhaps she hadn't been reading too much into what Lisa said about her supposedly dead friend.

* * *

About half an hour had passed, and soon the ship carrying Lisa and the others docked in Lilycove harbor. Lisa, Ash, and Misty walked off onto the docks, joined by a young man with spiked blond hair wearing sunglasses, a yellow vest over a black t-shirt, and faded jeans. Slung over his back was a red electric guitar. This of course was the group's friend, Bolt Hanson.

"Hello Lilycove!" Bolt called as if he were up on stage greeting a crowd.

"So when is your band performing here?" Misty asked Bolt.

"About five days." Bolt answered. "The rest of the group still has to get here. So until then uh… what're we doing?"

"Lisa's going to a funeral." Ash told him.

"Oh…" Bolt said looking a bit crestfallen. "Hey no, that's cool. Funerals are… yeah."

"Look, none of you have to stick around for this." Lisa told them.

"We know. We're just a little worried about you Lisa, that's all." Misty informed her. "You look like you could use some friends right now."

"…Fine." Lisa sighed. "Let's go then."

As soon as the group reached the end of the dock they found waiting for them a black stretch limo. Standing in front of the rear door was an old bald man with white bushy eyebrows wearing a chauffeur's uniform.

"Ah, Ms. Lisa. Your father was afraid that you wouldn't make it in time." The old man said. "The funeral is this afternoon, you know."

"I know Jennings." Lisa said to the old man. "I came as quickly as I could."

"And I see you brought some friends with you." Jennings observed. "Shall we get going then?"

"I guess we better." Lisa replied. "C'mon you guys."

With that, Jennings opened the door and Lisa and the others got in side. After a few minutes the limo drove into a neighborhood filled with large white mansions. Soon the limo pulled into the driveway of a two-story mansion at the end of the road that was slightly larger than the rest. As they got out of the back of the limo, Ash, Misty, and Bolt all had stunned looks on their faces as they beheld the mansion that was apparently Lisa's home.

"So… you're rich?" Bolt asked.

"My family is." Lisa answered. "Surprised?"

"Well, you sure don't give that impression." Ash pointed out, referring to Lisa's usual outfit of a red t-shirt with a denim vest and shorts.

Stepping out of the front door of the mansion was a rather handsome man with black hair and beard who had green eyes and was wearing a black suit and tie. The man smiled as soon as he saw Lisa.

"Well, I'm happy to see you've finally come home." The man said to Lisa.

"Hey dad." Lisa said as she went up and gave them an a hug.

"I see you've brought a few friends with you." Lisa's father observed.

"Oh yeah. Guys, this is my dad, Desmond Flare." Lisa said to the others.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Ash Ketchum." Ash greeted.

"And I'm his girlfriend, Misty." Misty added.

"And I'm Bolt Hanson." Bolt said with a bow.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all." Desmond told them. "Well then, I think we should take this inside."

A few minutes later the group had gone into the large sitting room of the mansion. As Ash looked around he noticed a picture on the mantle of the fireplace. He went over to take a closer look. The picture was of a ten-year-old Lisa, wearing an outfit similar to her current one with the addition of a red ball cap. Being held in Lisa's arms was a a small orange bird with a large head with a yellow tuft of feathers on top. Ash recognized the bird as a Torchic.

Standing next to Lisa was a girl who looked about the same age as Lisa with long blond hair, fair skin, and violet eyes. The girl was wearing a green summer dress, and it didn't take much for Ash to figure out that the girl was Marie.

"I see you've noticed the picture of Lisa just before she went on her journey." Desmond said as he stepped up next to Ash by the fireplace. "I was worried about her of course, but obviously she's been able to take care of herself."

"Say Mr. Flare, is this girl in the picture Lisa's friend Marie?" Ash asked.

"I'm going to go get ready for the funeral." Lisa said as she suddenly got up from the blue couch she was sitting on and went upstairs.

"She still hasn't gotten over Marie's death." Desmond sighed. "You'd think that after ten years… but then I guess that kind of pain is hard to overcome."

"Mr. Flare, how did Marie die?" Misty asked.

"She died in an accident in prison I'm afraid." Desmond said grimly. The group was greatly startled by this news.

"Wait, back up!" Bolt cut in. "Lisa's friend was a jailbird?"

"It's hard to believe a girl that young could be sent to prison, isn't it?" Desmond admitted. "But I'm afraid it's true. Marie had stolen a priceless artifact from the Lilycove Museum. Marie was caught and sentenced to a place called Scorch Gate. But before she was sent there Marie tried to escape, and Lisa helped to apprehend her. It wasn't something my daughter wanted to do, but after a little convincing she saw that it was the right thing to do. If only it didn't end is such tragedy."

"Maybe Lisa still feels guilt over Marie's death." Misty suggested.

"I suppose that's true." Desmond agreed. "Marie's crime and death hit everyone very hard. Though the hardest hit were Lisa and Marie's father. Alex was crushed when we got the news of the accident. In fact I think it may have led to his early death."

"Yes, but we must try and get over the tragic events concerning my young cousin and move on." A voice cut in. Everyone turned to see a rather dashing looking man with blond hair and violet eyes wearing a black suit and tie.

"Andre, it's good to see you." Desmond greeted. "How're you doing?"

"Oh, I'm holding up as well as can be expected." Andre told him. "I see you have company."

"Oh yes, these are some friends that Lisa brought with her." Desmond explained. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet Andre Dantes, Alex's nephew."

Andre looked around the room and then went over to Misty.

"It's a pleasure to meet such a lovely young lady." Andre said to Misty before kissing the back of her hand, causing Ash to glare at him. "Might I ask what your name is?"

"Oh, uh, Misty." Misty replied with a blush.

"Charmed." Andre said in a suave manner. He then looked around the room and saw Bolt. "Wait a minute, aren't you the front man for Raging Thunder?"

"No way dude! You know my band?" Bolt asked enthusiastically.

"I must confess I sometimes listen to your music at the office." Andre told him. "You're Bolt Hanson, right?"

"That's right." Bolt confirmed. "And my band has a gig here in five days. I can get you back stage if you like."

"I'd be delighted." Andre told him. He then went over to Ash. "And who might you be?"

"Ash Ketchum." Ash replied, giving Andre a suspicious look.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you." Andre said as he offered to shake Ash's hand. "So I assume that you're a Pokemon Trainer."

"Among other things." Ash replied, not once taking Andre's hand

Pikachu and Lucario also glared at Andre. Lisa reentered the room wearing a formal black dress. Andre quickly noticed her, thus breaking the tension.

"What a joy this is." Andre said as he went up to Lisa. "The girl who to this day I still consider a second cousin has returned at last."

"Hi Andre." Lisa said with a smile.

"How are you doing?" Andre asked her.

"Okay I guess." Lisa answered. "It isn't easy being back here."

"Well you still did the right thing by helping the police catch Marie." Andre told her. "You shouldn't continue to beat yourself up about it. Come now, the funeral will be starting soon. You're all invited to attend by the way."

"Yes, we should get going." Desmond agreed.

With that, the group began to file out of the room, though Ash, Pikachu, and Lucario stuck behind for a moment and watched Andre from behind.

"You know guys, there's something I don't trust about that Andre guy." Ash said to the two Pokemon.

* * *

**Author's Note:** The first bit of this chapter was a bit of a review. There was a reference to my very first Pokemon story, Fire for Ice. Not my best work, but Marie/Noir Mask does play a fairly important role in it. Anyway, here is where Andre is fully introduced. And obviously he's not as nice as he seems. You've probably noticed that Ash is a fairly different character from before. This Ash is sort of the character I thought he should've developed into. But more on that at a later date.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	2. I Don't Care Anymore

**Author's Note:** I got a review for this story asking me to kill Andre in the most agonizing way possible. I was real happy to get that review, because it means I'm doing my job right. I do have something nasty planed for Andre planned, but it won't involve death. Because there are things in this world that are worse than death.

By the way, the title for this chapter comes from the Phil Collins song, _I Don't Care Anymore_. To me it seemed to set the right mood for the second half of the chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 2: "I Don't Care Anymore"

After the funeral of Alex Dantes had ended, Ash and the others had decided to stay at the Flare estate for a few days. During the group's second day at the estate, Misty had gone back to the sitting room to look at the picture of Lisa and Marie from the day Lisa began her journey. Something about the story of Lisa and Marie's relationship had been nagging at Misty. She kept thinking that perhaps there had been something more between Lisa and Marie than just friendship. Of course Misty didn't know anything for sure and she knew that it was really none of her business, but she couldn't help but wonder.

"You see quite interested that picture." A voice commented, startling Misty. Misty turned to see Desmond standing behind her. "Forgive me, I didn't mean to startle you."

"Oh, it's fine Mr. Flare." Misty told him.

"So what about that picture has you so interested?" Desmond asked.

"Well, back when I first met Lisa, we were talking and she told me that she regretted not telling someone how she really felt about them when she had the chance." Misty explained. "At the time I thought she was talking about the friend who died before she went to Johto. But now that I've learned that this friend was Marie… I mean there's nothing wrong with it of course, but I have to ask… did Lisa see Marie as more than just a friend?"

"It seems that I'm not the only one to notice." Desmond sighed as he sat down in an available chair. "At the time my fatherly intuition told me that there might have been something more to Lisa and Marie's relationship. On the surface it seemed like innocent friendship, and in the beginning I'm sure it was. But over time it seemed like it was developing into something more. I'm ashamed to admit that I did not approve of such a relationship, and a part of me was relieved when Lisa went on her journey to become a Pokemon Trainer and left Marie behind.

"I confess that my disapproval was a strong motivating factor in helping Andre to convince Lisa to aid the police in apprehending Marie. It of course hurt Lisa to do it, but I felt it was for the best, as did Andre. But when Marie died my daughter changed forever. I can see how miserable she still is. And by thunder, I'd give anything to go back in time and change the past if only to see Lisa happy again."

"Mr. Flare, there's no way you could've known things would turn out this way." Misty pointed out.

"True." Desmond agreed. "But it does not change the fact that I was a foolish man then…. I can't help but feel in some way responsible for Lisa's unhappiness."

"I think I'll go have a talk with Lisa." Misty suggested.

"Yes, and I think I should get back to some paperwork I've been neglecting." Desmond said as he got up from his chair. "If you'll excuse me."

With that, Desmond left the room while Misty went off to go find Lisa. After checking Lisa's room and finding that she wasn't there, Misty began searching the mansion. Though she did not find Lisa, Misty did find Ash out on a deck overlooking the ocean hanging out with Pikachu and Lucario.

"Oh hey." Ash said to Misty after noticing her arrival.

"Hey." Misty greeted back as she joined Ash. "Have you seen Lisa? I wanted to talk to her about something."

"I think she went out for a walk." Ash told her. "It looked like she wanted to clear her head."

"This trip's been rough on her." Misty pointed out.

"Yeah, it seems like it's brought back a lot of bad memories for her." Ash agreed.

"There you guys are!" Bolt said as he suddenly joined the two on the deck. "I wanted to let you guys know that I ran into Andre while I was helping to set up for my band, and he invited me on a trip on his yacht tomorrow. He said you guys were welcome to tag along."

"Wow, that sounds like a blast!" Misty exclaimed.

"You can count me out." Ash told them. "I can't stand that guy."

"Oh Ash, you're just jealous because Andre kissed me on the hand." Misty teased.

"It's true that I didn't like seeing that." Ash admitted. "But the bottom line is I just don't trust Andre. He reminds me of that bastard."

"You mean Cyrus, don't you?" Misty realized.

"…I think I'll go for a walk." Ash suddenly said. "If I see Lisa, I'll tell her you're looking for her."

With that, Ash stormed off with Pikachu and Lucario following close behind. Misty sighed and slapped herself on the forehead.

"Damnit, I shouldn't it brought it up." Misty cursed to herself.

"What the heck was that about?" a confused Bolt asked. "Who's Cyrus?"

"Cyrus was the leader of Team Galactic back in Sinnoh." Misty explained.

"Oh yeah, I've heard of those guys." Bolt informed her. "Aren't they some kind of benevolent corporation or something now?"

"I wouldn't know anything about that, but about nine years ago Ash and I ran into some real trouble with Cyrus and Team Galactic." Misty continued. "It was the worst mess we had ever gotten into, and Ash was never the same afterward. He stopped traveling and spent two years in Johto training to become an Aura Master."

"Wow, I had no idea." Bolt said with a look of amazement. "So why does Andre remind Ash of this Cyrus dude?"

"Maybe because back then Cyrus was very well liked and respected in Sinnoh." Misty explained. "No one knew that he was really the head of Team Galactic, that he was really a monster. I think it's because Andre is so charming that Ash doesn't trust him."

"Yeah, well I think Ash is way off on this one." Bolt told her. "Andre's a terrific guy."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Misty somewhat agreed, though she began to wonder if Ash was onto something.

* * *

Meanwhile in another part of the city, Giovanni, Marie, and six Team Rocket grunts had arrived at the main office building of the Dantes Corporation. As soon as they entered the building Andre greeted them in a light-blue suit and a pink tie. It was taking all of Marie's restraint not to send out one of her Pokemon and attack Andre right then and there.

"Ah Giovanni my friend, so good of you to come!" Andre greeted as he walked over to the group. "I assume you brought the item I requested."

"It's right here." Giovanni said as he held up a large silver briefcase. "So what is this interesting proposal of yours?"

"In good time my friend." Andre told him. "First we should move to a more secure meeting place I have set up."

Suddenly Andre noticed Marie and walked over to her. Marie became very nervous that Andre would know who she was. Though Lisa had never been able to see past the mask, so Marie figured that Andre wouldn't be able to either.

"Say Giovanni, who is this girl you brought with you?" Andre asked.

"That is Noir Mask, one of my best agents." Giovanni answered. "She's here to act as my bodyguard."

Andre began stroking his chine as he continued to look at Marie. Marie was becoming more and more nervous as Andre examined her. It seemed as if Andre was trying to figure out who she was.

"Well I do like the mask, but the cape and the feathered hat are a bit much." Andre commented. "Now then, I have a meeting room set up in the basement all ready for us."

"Then let's proceed there." Giovanni suggested.

Marie sighed heavily as Andre began leading the group to the elevator. She thought that Andre had recognized her when in reality he was just critiquing her costume. Marie had forgotten how obsessed Andre was with fashion. After a short elevator ride down Andre led the group down a short hall and opened up a large dimly lit boardroom with a large monitor on the wall and a large glass table. Both Marie and Giovanni were surprised to find people already waiting in the room.

Standing against the left wall with their hands behind their backs were three men and three women wearing blue and white striped shirts, blue pants, and blue bandannas on their heads, each with a with skull and cross bones symbol on the front. Their costumes gave them the appearance of pirates. Also sitting on the left side of the table was a rather muscular man with a black beard wearing a blue bandanna on his head like the people standing by the wall and a black jumpsuit. The jumpsuit was unzipped near the top to not only reveal part of his chest but to also show he was wearing a gold chain around his neck. Sitting next to this man was a woman with long curly red hair wearing an outfit similar to those standing at the wall but with a blue vest.

"What is the meaning of this?" Giovanni angrily demanded. "Why on earth is Team Aqua here?"

"Now, now, relax Giovanni. I invited them." Andre told him. "The gentleman at the table by the way is Archie, the leader of Team Aqua. And the lady with him is one of his commanders, Shelly."

"When we agreed to meet you Andre, you said nothing about bringing Team Rocket!" Archie cut in. "We have no business with the likes of thieves like them!"

"And we have no business with the likes of environmental extremists like Team Aqua!" Giovanni shot back.

"Gentlemen, please calm yourselves." Andre told them. "Believe it or not my little business proposition will benefit all of us. Now if you'll please sit down I'll explain why I brought all of you here today."

After a moment Giovanni grudgingly took a seat at the table across from Archie. Marie took the seat across from Shelly, while the six Team Rocket grunts stood against the opposite wall to face the grunts from Team Aqua. The tension in the air could be cut with a knife as Andre took his seat at the table.

"Now then," Andre began as he sat down, "I'd like to start by thanking you all for coming. As many of you know, the Dantes Corporation is the leading developer of technology for undersea exploration. And recently we've been perfecting technology for creating whole underwater colonies. My late father and uncle started this company in the hopes of one day finding the so-called 'Prince of the Sea'. But my ambitions are much higher. My goal is to not only bring the world into the future, but to get rich doing it. And to do that I plan to use the power of the Legendary Pokemon, Kyogre."

"What do you plan to achieve with Kyogre's power?" Archie demanded to know.

"The same goal as you, to expand the ocean and change the world." Andre explained. "It's quite simple really. By expanding the ocean I would not only create more homes for aquatic Pokemon, which is what Team Aqua desires, but I would be destroying quite a few homes. Whole towns and cities will be drowned underwater. Which is where my company steps in to provide new homes in the form of undersea colonies. And if Team Rocket agrees to become partners with my company, they will receive a tidy profit.

"So in the end, I not only become richer but will be hailed as a hero for providing new homes, Team Rocket will be able to make more money, and Team Aqua's dream for a new world will be fulfilled. Every body wins. Well, except for those not lucky enough to survive the flood, but sacrifices must be made."

"A rather… interesting plan." Giovanni told Andre. "But how do you suggest we even obtain Kyogre?"

"Ah, but Team Aqua already has Kyogre in their possession." Andre revealed. "It is currently inside a ship docked at Lilycove harbor. I've seen the great Pokemon for myself."

"We may have Kyogre, but we can't control it." Shelly pointed out. "Right now it's in a dormant state, and nothing we've done so far has been able to awaken it."

"Yes, but you could with the Blue Orb." Andre reminded her.

"You forget Andre that not only don't we have the Blue Orb, but it's said to drive those who wield it insane." Archie cut in.

"True, but Giovanni and our friends from Team Rocket have brought with them technology that will safely allow us to use the power of the orb." Andre revealed. "And as for the Blue Orb itself, that is safely in my possession. Together we have everything we need to reshape the world. Now all we need to do is agree to work together."

As Giovanni and Archie began to contemplate Andre's offer, Marie adjusted the clasp of her cape. The clasp was a small gold piece with a tiny black gemstone in the center.

"You certainly have an ambitious plan." Marie suddenly commented. "And you even have the Blue Orb. That must've been difficult to get."

"Not as difficult as you might think." Andre said with false modesty. "Actually I had stolen the orb once before, where it served another very useful purpose."

"And just what brilliant plan did you use it for?" Marie asked. "If you don't mind me asking."

"Not at all my dear." Andre replied with an arrogant smirk. "To answer your question I used the orb to frame my younger cousin for theft. It was easy enough for me to steal it from the museum, and easy enough to plant it in my cousin's room. Then all I had to do was bribe a few witnesses and members of the police force, and she was found guilty. I even bribed the judge to send her to some far off desert prison where she'd be safely out of the way."

"Rather excessive." Giovanni commented. "Though I admit it is ingenious."

"Well it was all so I could get my uncle to disinherit the little brat and get me one step closer to gaining the company." Andre bragged. "And it worked out even better than I had planed, because my cousin died in that hell hole. Something about an accident, I don't remember the details. But it really helped my efforts to send my uncle to an early grave."

"…What do you mean?" Marie asked as she suddenly got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Well, it's publicly known that my uncle had taken ill for many years." Andre began. "But what isn't known is that it's because I'd been slowly poisoning him over the years. And now that he's finally dead I can carry out my master plan, with the cooperation of Team Rocket and Team Aqua of course."

Marie could not believe what she had just heard. Not only had her cousin, the man she hated most in the world, admit to framing her for a crime she didn't commit, but had also admitted to murdering her father. Marie had heard enough. She had seen enough. She had had enough.

"You monster!" Marie cried in a low hate-filled voice as she suddenly stood up from her chair. "I'll make you pay!"

With that, Marie sent out Darkrai. The sudden appearance of the shadowy Pokemon startled everyone in the room, especially Giovanni.

"Darkrai? How did you…?" Giovanni began to ask, but suddenly a realization hit him. "All those years ago when I had found you… you had…!"

"Experience my hell!" Marie shouted, cutting Giovanni off. "Dark Void!"

With incredible speed, Darkrai raised its arms and formed a ball of black energy between its hands. The ball split apart and hit Giovanni, Archie, Shelly, and the Rocket and Aqua grunt, sending them into a dark sleep where they immediately began to have nightmares. Andre, however, managed to avoid the attack by ducking under the desk. With surprising speed, Andre grabbed the case that Giovanni had brought and ran out a door on the right side of the room that led to a staircase.

"Go ahead and run cousin." Marie said coldly. "You'll only suffer even more in the end."

Marie and Darkrai then began to follow after Andre up the stairs. As she left, Marie knew that her life as a member of Team Rocket was finished and she had nowhere else to go. But she didn't care anymore about that. All Marie cared about at that moment was her revenge. First she would get Andre, then she would make Lisa pay for what she did to her. Vengeance was finally in her reach.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Ash and Misty's mentioned encounter with Team Galactic is going to be the plot of another story I plan to do in the future. You might have also noticed that Andre had referred to "The Prince of the Sea", and I think we all know which Legendary Pokemon that is. I'll probably do something with that in the future too. Anyway, the reason I brought in this thing with Team Aqua and Kyogre is because I wanted Andre to become a legitimate threat later in the story.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	3. Unmasked

**Author's Note:** I got yet another review asking me to kill off Andre. Man, I really did a good job of depicting Andre as an evil bastard. Don't worry though, Andre will get his.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 3: Unmasked

Lisa walked along the Lilycove City harbor in deep thought. She had hoped that a walk outside would take her mind off Marie, but it seemed that everywhere she went in the city reminded her of her time with Marie. There was after all a reason why Lisa had not visited her home in over ten years, and that was to try and escape those memories. Though not only had trying to escape been in vain, by finally returning home they had come back in spades. Lisa started to consider getting back on the road earlier than she had planned, but just as she did she saw Andre run from around the corner with a frightened expression on his face carrying a large metal case.

"Hey Andre, what's wrong?" Lisa called as she ran up to him.

"Oh Lisa, thank goodness!" Andre said to her as soon as he stopped. "You have to help me! This mad woman wearing a mask came out of nowhere and attacked me! She's after me right now!"

"Okay, I'll take care of it." Lisa told him. "You just get out of here."

Andre nodded and continued his mad dash while Lisa stood ready to face whoever was chasing him. From around the corner came Marie in a fast walk with Darkrai hovering close behind her. Marie stopped though when she saw Lisa in her path.

"Lisa!" Marie said with a surprised expression that soon turned to a somewhat insane smile. "Well, this day just gets better and better."

"I should've known it was you Noir when Andre said he was attacked by a masked woman." Lisa told her. "Care to tell me why Team Rocket is after Andre?"

"Oh, I'm no longer with Team Rocket." Marie informed her. "You could say I had Darkrai give them my resignation a few minutes ago."

"Okay, why are you after Andre then?" Lisa demanded to know. At this point Marie broke into laughter. "Damnit, what's so funny?"

"Oh my dear Lisa." Marie said as she gained some composure. "After all these years you still haven't figured out who I am."

"What're you talking about?" Lisa impatiently demanded. With that, Marie slipped off her mask to reveal her violet eyes, eyes that looked as if they hadn't had a goodnight's sleep in years. In an instant Lisa went pale with recognition. "M-Marie? No… no they said… they said you were…!"

"Dead?" Marie finished for her. "I'm sure that's what the warden at Scorch Gate told everyone when they asked. But what really happened was that Giovanni found me and asked me to join Team Rocket."

"So… you became a thief?" Lisa asked coldly. "I never wanted to believe that you were capable of such things... But here you are in that Team Rocket uniform, hiding behind that mask like a coward. How can you live with yourself stealing other peoples Pokemon? How the hell can you justify…?"

"I DID IT TO SURVIVE!" Marie shouted, cutting Lisa off. "…You have no idea what kind of hell I went through in that prison, the hell you and Andre made me experience…. But you will soon… you experience my hell! Darkrai, attack now with Dark Void!"

Faster than Lisa could pull out a Pokeball, Darkrai threw another ball of black energy that hit her dead on. Lisa fell to the ground asleep, already experiencing a horrible nightmare. As soon as Lisa hit the ground, Marie began laughing madly as tears started streaming down her face. Suddenly a bolt of yellow lightning hit close to Marie's feet, while Darkrai was hit in the chest by a ball of blue light.

"That's enough!" a voice called. Marie turned to see Ash, Pikachu, and Lucario standing near by.

"I didn't expect to see you here Ketchum." Marie said after she had regained some composure.

"That makes two of us!" Ash told her. "I saw everything by the way. You've gotten your little revenge on Lisa, so back off!"

"Oh, but I've just begun!" Marie said with a mad look in her eyes. "I'm going to make sure that Lisa pays for everything she's done. Both she and Andre!"

"What does Andre have to do with all this?" Ash demanded to know.

"If you must know, my bastard of a cousin framed me for the crime I was accused of and saw to it I was sent to a living hell." Marie explained. "All just so I'd be out of the way and he could inherit my father's company when he died."

"Yeah, he seemed to me like the kind of guy who'd do something like that." Ash admitted. "But there's a better way to handle all this."

"There is no other way!" Marie told him. "This is the only way for me to make Andre pay for what he did!"

"No, we can figure out something else!" Ash told her. "Just give us a chance Marie!"

"…Don't call me Marie." Marie said coldly as she put her mask back on. "Marie Dantes died a long time ago. I'm Noir Mask now! And I'm going to make you experience my hell! Darkrai, attack with Dark Void!"

Darkrai threw another sphere of black energy. But a split second before it could hit, Ash raised his right hand and brought up a barrier of blue energy. The sphere hit the shiled and created a huge explosion. When the smoke cleared Marie and Darkrai were gone. Ash thought about going after Marie for a moment, but then decided that he needed to get Lisa out of there.

* * *

_In her nightmare, Lisa was being forced through a grey desert under a blinding white sun, chained by the ankle to several other girls who all looked like the walking dead. Tattered brown rags had replaced her original outfit, and around her neck was a black metal collar. Why Lisa was being forced through this desert she did not know. But occasionally things that looked like women with indescribable animal-like faces prodded her with sticks to make her keep moving. From their outfits, Lisa assumed they were supposed to be some sort of prison guards._

_Eventually the blazing heat of the white sun above became too much for Lisa and she fell to her knees. One of the beast women squealed something in its own bestial language, causing two of the other creatures to unhook Lisa from the other prisoners and drag her away by the arms. Lisa was taken in front of a small wooden shed of some sort. The door to the shed opened of its own accord to reveal a chamber filled with flames. The two animal women threw Lisa into the shed, but when she entered the scene suddenly changed._

_Lisa found herself wearing her original cloths, standing in a broken-down brick walled jail cell. Right away Lisa heard the sound of crying, and she turned to see huddled in a corner of the cell a ten-year-old Marie, dirty and wearing tattered rags. Looking at Marie with a sad expression was a Pokemon that looked like a small grey fox. Lisa recognized the Pokemon as a Zorua, the pre-evolved form of Zoroark. When Lisa tried to approach the two, the room suddenly went grey and time seemed to stop._

_Suddenly to Lisa's shock, both Marie and Zorua shattered into dust. Then a shadow rose from the floor and took the form of Darkrai. Instead of hovering in the air like it normally did, Darkrai stood before Lisa on a pair of black stilt-like legs._

_"I must speak with you." Darkrai said in a deep whispery voice that sounded somewhat distorted. "Many years ago… I came to live under the prison of Scorch Gate… so that only humans who had committed crimes would suffer from my power to bring nightmares…. During that time… I never considered that one of those humans might have been falsely imprisoned… until I met Marie. I saw how she treated the Zorua she had captured by chance… she treated him with such kindness that it was clear that she was innocent of the crime she had been accused of... I felt a tremendous guilt that someone so innocent was suffering from the effects of my powers… so I took it upon myself to try and ease her pain…._

_"I watched over Marie in that prison… protected her when I could… gave her extra water to consume…. Then by either accident or fate Marie had captured me…. And it was on that same day that the keeper of the prison discovered Zorua…. Zorua would have been taken away… and Marie's hell would have become far worse… were it not for a chance encounter with the one who led Team Rocket…. He offered Marie the only chance of survival she had…. And she took it in order to escape…._

_"But by doing so… Marie had trapped herself in another kind of hell…. She hates the life she now lives… hates some of the actions she has had to take to survive…. I think that Marie wears her mask… so that she does not have to see herself in the mirror as a member of Team Rocket… so that she does not have to use her own name…. The only thing that has kept Marie going… is her desire for vengeance... But now… both Zoroark and I fear that Marie is starting to lose her sanity…._

_"Her very desire for revenge… may end up destroying her…. But I believe… that you might be able to save Marie from herself…. So I beg of you… save Marie… before it's too late."_

_With that, both Darkrai and the prison cell vanished and Lisa began falling into a black abyss._

* * *

Lisa shot up in her bed at the mansion screaming. Her heart was pounding and her brow was dripping in cold sweat. It took Lisa a moment to notice Ash, Misty, Bolt, and Desmond standing by her bed.

"Are you okay Lisa?" Desmond asked with a very concerned expression.

"Darkrai… it spoke to me." Lisa told them. "It, it told me that Marie was framed and asked me to save her."

"Marie said something about that too." Ash cut in. "She said that Andre had framed her for whatever crime she was sent to jail for so he could gain control of the family business."

"I find that very hard to believe." Desmond told him. "I've known Andre for many years, and he's the last person who would commit such an act."

"I gotta go with Mr. Flare on this one dude." Bolt agreed. "I mean Andre's a class act. I can't picture him doing something like that either."

"Why, because he's so charming?" Ash retorted. "People can act like saints but still be rotten to the core. Believe me, I know."

"I have to agree with Ash." Misty cut in. "There's something about this whole thing that doesn't seem right."

"If, if you all don't mind… I'd like to be alone right now." Lisa spoke up.

"Of course." Desmond told her. "Come all of you, let's let Lisa get some rest."

With that, Desmond led Ash and the others out of the room. Lisa then fell back onto the bed and looked up at the ceiling. So many questions kept circling around in her mind that Lisa had no idea what to do. Lisa thought about trying to get some sleep, but she knew that she would be able to. Not because of Darkrai, but because she was too worried about Marie.

* * *

**Author's Note:** The scene where Marie laughs madly over Lisa's fallen body was something I had pictured even before I had started working on Rise of Noir Mask. So it was a real thrill to finally get to write it.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	4. The Confession of Andre Dantes

**Author's Note:** Remember that part in chapter two when Marie fiddled with the clasp of her cape? There's a reason i mentioned that, and it'll become clear in this chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 4: The Confession of Andre Dantes

Marie arrived outside of a local T.V. station in Lilycove with Zoroark and Darkrai out to assist her. Zoroark opened the locked back door of the station with a slash of its claws and the three went inside. Only a few steps Marie heard footsteps from around the corner and stopped, signaling her two Pokemon to do so as well. She looked and saw that it was a lone security guard. With a hand signal from Marie, Darkrai moved out from around the corner and hit the guard with a Dark Void attack before the guard even noticed.

With the guard out cold the three continued down the hallway. Marie opened each door and looked inside each room until she found the room she was looking for, the editing room. Inside there were two men sitting at the consol working on something. Marie signaled Darkrai to knock them out with another Dark Void attack. Once the two men were out Marie went in.

Zoroark and Darkrai stayed by the door in case someone came while Marie went over to the editing consol. She pulled of the front of her cape clasp and from the back extended a retractable black cable. Marie plugged the cable into the editing consol computer, and when the right icon appeared on the screen she clicked it and opened up a video file. As Marie set to work on what she was doing she couldn't help thinking about how she had earlier used Darkrai to attack Lisa. Marie found that even though she had finally gotten her revenge on Lisa she for some reason felt even more miserable than before.

Even as she laughed over Lisa's fallen unconscious body, Marie had felt that a strong part of her was in pain, like she had been stabbed in the heart. Marie couldn't explain it, but she tried to put it out of her mind and continued her work. She needed to get done what she was doing if she wanted to get her revenge on Andre. Marie felt that it wasn't enough just to use Darkrai's power on Andre. She needed the world to know what he had done.

* * *

Meanwhile at the Flare estate, Ash, Misty, Desmond, and Bolt had gathered downstairs to discuss what to do about the current situation with Marie. Though Bolt had sat down on the couch and turned on the T.V.

"I still think it's a good idea to contact the police." Desmond insisted.

"It's too dangerous to get them involved." Ash told him. "They wouldn't stand a chance against Darkrai."

"But if Marie really is convinced that Andre framed her, who knows what she might do." Desmond pointed out.

"Man, this is messed up!" Bolt exclaimed from where he was sitting on the couch.

"I know." Misty agreed. "Lisa finds out that her closet friend is alive, but is also a member of Team Rocket. And what's worse is that Marie seems to hate Lisa now."

"Huh? Oh yeah, that's pretty screwed up too. But I was talking about how there's nothing on T.V. but Pokemon Contests." Bolt told her.

"Now isn't the time to be watching T.V.!" Misty scolded.

Before Bolt could offer a rebuttal, the television screen went to static for a moment before changing to a picture of Andre in the basement boardroom with Giovanni and Archie.

_"You certainly have an ambitious plan."_ The recording of Marie's voice said, getting the attention of everyone in the room. _"And you even have the Blue Orb. That must've been difficult to get."_

_"Not as difficult as you might think."_ Andre replied on the screen. _"Actually I had stolen the orb once before, where it served another very useful purpose."_

"What on earth is this?" a confused Desmond asked as the recording of Marie's voice asked about Andre's plan.

_"Not at all my dear."_ The recording of Andre continued. _"To answer your question I used the orb to frame my younger cousin for theft. It was easy enough for me to steal it from the museum, and easy enough to plant it in my cousin's room. Then all I had to do was bribe a few witnesses and members of the police force, and she was found guilty. I even bribed the judge to send her to some far off desert prison where she'd be safely out of the way."_

_"Rather excessive."_ The recording of Giovanni commented. _"Though I admit it is ingenious."_

_"Well it was all so I could get my uncle to disinherit the little brat and get me one step closer to gaining the company."_ Andre continued to brag. _"And it worked out even better than I had planed, because my cousin died in that hell hole. Something about an accident, I don't remember the details. But it really helped my efforts to send my uncle to an early grave."_

_"…What do you mean?"_ a startled Marie asked on screen, causing Ash and the others to get a very bad feeling.

_"Well, it's publicly known that my uncle had taken ill for many years."_ Andre began on screen. _"But what isn't known is that it's because I'd been slowly poisoning him over the years. And now that he's finally dead I can carry out my master plan, with the cooperation of Team Rocket and Team Aqua of course."_

With that, the screen suddenly changed to back to the Pokemon Contest that was originally on. Misty, Bolt, and Desmond stared at the screen for a moment with stunned expressions, but Ash on the other was hardly surprised by what they had just seen.

"…Dear god!" Desmond exclaimed.

"I hate to say I told you so." Ash cut in.

"You were right dude, the guy's a psycho." Bolt admitted. "But what was all that stuff about Team Rocket and Team Aqua about?"

"No clue." Ash told him. "But now I think we should call the police, only we should tell them to go after Andre."

"Yes, I think you're right." Desmond agreed. "Though I'm sure they're already after him. That broadcast interrupted a very important contest, so almost everyone in the city has seen it."

Sure enough, the screen suddenly changed to an image of a female news reporter with long dark-blue hair.

_"We interrupt the broadcast of the Lilycove Championship Contest with a breaking news bulletin."_ The reporter announced. _"Moments ago our coverage was interrupted by what was apparently a recording of Andre Dantes, the new head of the Dantes Corporation, admitting that he had not only murdered the previous head of the Dantes Corporation, Alex Dantes, but had also framed his younger cousin, Marie Dantes, for the crime of stealing an artifact from the Lilycove City Museum thirteen years ago. The other two men seen in the video with Mr. Dantes have already been identified as Giovanni, the suspected head of a criminal organization known as Team Rocket, and Archie, the known head of a group of environmental extremists here in Hoenn known as Team Aqua. The Lilycove Police Department has issued a city wide manhunt for Mr. Dantes, and…"_

"That was quick." Bolt commented as he turned off the T.V. "Now what?"

"I should head down to the company and try to get this situation under control." Desmond told them. "I'm sure all hell is breaking loose down there. In the meantime we should keep all of this from Lisa. If she learns about what's going on she may do something rash."

* * *

Unbeknownst to Desmond and the others, Lisa had already seen the whole broadcast on the T.V. in her room and was left in shock. For years Lisa had thought she had done the right thing by helping the police apprehend Marie when she tried to escape, but in reality all she had done was help an evil man with his selfish scheme to gain power. Lisa glanced over at the mirror on her dresser and found that she was disgusted to look at herself. In a fit of rage Lisa cried out and shattered the mirror with her fist, knocked off all the items on her dresser, and fell to her knees sobbing. After a few moments Lisa had regained some composure.

Lisa wasn't sure what she should do, but she was sure that she had to find Marie. She needed to find her. Lisa got back to her feet and went over and opened the window of her room. She looked down out the window and saw that the drop down wasn't incredibly far.

"Go Rapidash!" Lisa called as she threw out a Pokeball.

Emerging from the ball on the ground outside below the window was a cream-colored horse with a single horn on its forehead, a mane made and tail made of flames, and flames coming out around its hooves. Lisa jumped out the window and landed safely on Rapidash's back. She then road off on the fiery steed, and from inside the mansion Ash and the others heard the galloping. By the time they had gotten outside, Lisa was long gone.

"We have to go after her!" Desmond told them.

"Relax, I'm on it." Bolt said as he reached for a Pokeball at his waist. "I think I can catch her on Raikou."

"Hold it Bolt." Ash interrupted, causing him to freeze. "Lisa needs to handle this on her own."

"Dude, are you serious?" Bolt asked with a surprised look.

"There have been times when I've wondered why Ho-Oh chose me as its partner," Ash told him, "and why it chose you, Misty, and Lisa to partner with the Legendary Beasts. I think I may have part of that answer. I'm not sure, but I think maybe Ho-Oh and Entei picked Lisa so she could meet up with Marie again and repair their friendship."

"That's all well and good young man, but you can't expect us all to just stand by and do nothing." Desmond pointed out.

"I'm not." Ash replied. "Go Ho-Oh!

Emerging from Ash's thrown ball was a massive red bird with a white underside and a green band around its long neck. Green feathers rimmed its wings and its tail was made of long golden feathers. Adorning the top of its head was a gold comb. Desmond was both surprised and dazzled by the appearance of the great bird.

"Pikachu, Lucario, Ho-Oh, and I will keep an eye on Lisa from the air." Ash informed the group.

"I'll go with you." Misty told Ash.

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Ash said to her. "In the meantime Bolt, you go out and look for Andre. It'd probably be better if we found that bastard before Marie does. As for you Mr. Flare, you just worry about that company of yours."

"Just who are you?" Desmond asked Ash.

"Just a Pokemon Trainer who's seen a lot." Ash said casually. "Now let's get going and hope that the Aura is with us."

With that, Ash and Misty got on Ho-Oh's back with Pikachu and Lucario and flew off. Desmond looked up at them with an expression of awe.

"He really is extraordinary." Desmond commented.

"You know earlier Misty said something about Ash being an Aura Master." Bolt remembered.

"An Aura Master?" Desmond repeated. "Those only exist in stories."

"I once believed that too. But nowadays I'm not so sure, not after seeing Ash in action." Bolt told him. "Well, I gotta go hunt down a psycho."

* * *

Down at the Lilycove harbor, Andre stood looking at all of the ships that had docked trying to find a specific one. Setting at his feet were the metal case that Giovanni had brought and a small black box with a handle on top.

"I knew you would come here eventually." A voice suddenly spoke. Andre turned around to see Marie standing behind him.

"And I knew you would show up again." Andre told her. "But what I don't know is why you've been trying to attack me."

"I think that should be obvious." Marie said as she took off her mask.

"…Marie?" Andre said with a look of surprise. In moments Andre then burst into laughter. "Well dear cousin, I have to admit that I never even imagined this happening. How on earth did you end up in Team Rocket?"

"That doesn't matter." Marie said coldly as she put her mask back on.

"No, I suppose it doesn't." Andre agreed. "Though I find it hilariously ironic that a girl falsely accused of theft escapes her confinement by joining a gang of thieves. And I must say you've actually made things far easier for me. Thanks to your little stunt during the meeting I was able to obtain the technology for wielding the Blue Orb and Kyogre without having to work with either Team Rocket or Team Aqua. Now I can reshape the world, and in doing so become the great hero known for helping humanity survive the great flood."

"You'll never be known as a hero." Marie told him. "I recorded you during the meeting when you bragged about what you did. And that recording has been broadcast all over the city. Now everyone knows what you truly are."

"Hmm… well done cousin." Andre commented looking very unconcerned. "It seems that joining Team Rocket has made you more cunning. I really am impressed. But in the end it's a minor problem. So what if the city knows of my deeds? It's too late for anyone to stop me now that I have Kyogre."

"You won't get a chance to use that control." Marie told him as she reached behind her cape.

"I beg to differ." Andre said as he swiftly reached into his pocket and threw out a small smoke bomb.

In a few moments the smoke cleared and Andre was gone. As Marie looked around and tried to figure out where he went, she suddenly heard the sound of galloping. Marie looked around and saw Lisa riding in on Rapidash. Marie found that she was overjoyed that Lisa had recovered from Darkrai's attack, but at the same time a part of her was angered to see her.

"Well dear Lisa." Marie said to herself. "It looks like Andre will have to wait while we settle things once and for all."

* * *

**Author's Note:** The only hard part of this chapter was integrating the part with Andre's "confession". I did copy and paste the dialogue from chapter two, but there were a few parts here and there I had to change. Anyway, the next chapter begins the final showdown between Lisa and Marie, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	5. Reckoning

**Author's Note:** This chapter was originally going to be two chapters, but the battle in it went a lot faster than I thought it would. It was a six-on-six battle, so I expected it to take longer. Although I may have rushed it in some places. I'm still getting the hang of writing Pokemon battle scenes. Still, I'm glad it worked out this way, because I've been looking forward to writing the end scene of this chapter for quite some time.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 5: Reckoning

Marie continued to watch as Lisa continued to charge towards her on Rapidash. The masked woman kept trying to make sense of the mix of emotions she was feeling. Marie found that she felt somehow happy to see Lisa back on her feet, but she couldn't tell if it was because she was glad that she was fine, or because she had been given another chance to make Lisa suffer even more. Never before had Marie experienced such an odd mixture of anger and rage, and then of course there was the misery she had felt earlier after using Darkrai to attack Lisa. Whatever Marie was feeling, in the end se decided that she would deal with Lisa one more time before taking care of Andre.

"Go Honchkrow!" Marie called as she threw out a Pokeball. Emerging from the thrown ball was a good-sized black bird with a white breast and a head of feathers that resembled a hat. "Take down Rapidash with Night Slash!"

Honchkrow's wings began to glow with a purple light. The black bird then flew at Rapidash and slashed its right with across Rapidash's right legs. The fiery steed fell to the ground, knocking Lisa off. Lisa quickly got back to her feet though.

"Now hit it with Dark Pulse!" Marie commanded.

Honchkrow opened its beak and fired a barrage of black energy rings. Rapidash cried out as hit was being hit. Lisa quickly called back the flaming horse.

"It's good to see you again dear Lisa." Marie said with a somewhat insane smile on her face. "I'm surprised you were able to recover so quickly from Dark Void."

"I came to talk to you Marie." Lisa told her.

"There's nothing more for us to say to each other." Marie said coldly. "All that's left for us is this battle."

"…I see." Lisa said with a sad expression. "Well then… if fighting you is the only way for me to get you to listen, then let's go! Go Flareon!"

Emerging from the thrown ball was a creature that looked somewhat like a mixture of a fox and a cat. It had large black eyes and most of its fur was red. On its forehead was a tuft of long yellow fur, and the same kind of fur surrounded its neck. The creature's tail was also covered in long yellow fur and gave one the impression of a flame.

"Dark Pulse, Honchkrow!" Marie commanded. Honchkrow fired another barrage of black rings, but Flareon managed to jump out of the way before they hit.

"Use Fire Spin!" Lisa commanded. Flareon fired a stream of flames that circled around Honchkrow and created a tornado of fire. "Now it's got nowhere to go. Jump up and use Iron Tail!"

Flareon's tail began to glow with a white light as it charged towards the twister of fire. The fox-like creature leapt up in the air and did a flip. The twister of fire vanished and Honchkrow was hit on the head by Flareon's tail. The black bird was knocked out of the air cold.

"You never fail to impress me Lisa." Marie said as she called Honchkrow back. "I've actually always admired your strength, even now. But this battle is far from over. Go Bisharp!"

Emerging from the thrown ball was a somewhat humanoid creature that stood five feet tall. Much of its body was covered in red armor, and on the forehead of its helmet was a long gold and silver blade. Its hands resembled white gloves with curved blades on the sides of its wrists, and protruding from the front of its torso were bladed disks that gave one the impression of a ribcage.

"Now you're not even trying!" Lisa told Marie. "Hit Bisharp with Flame Charge Flareon!"

Flareon ran fast at Bisharp, and as it did its entire body became shrouded in flames. Before Bisharp could react, Flareon tackled it right in the chest, knocking the armored creature to the ground.

"Finish it with Flamethrower!" Lisa commanded.

Flareon fired a stream of flames at Bisharp just as it was getting up. The armored creature fell back to the ground and was out cold.

"Please listen Marie!" Lisa begged as Marie called back Bisharp. "I don't blame you for being mad at me. I don't blame you for wanting revenge. I ended up doing a terrible thing to you all those years ago."

"You didn't seem to think it was so terrible back then." Marie retorted angrily. "You lied to me and just watched as they dragged me away to that hell!"

"But I never wanted to lead you into that trap!" Lisa insisted. "I never even believed that you stole the Blue Orb in the first place! I was shocked when they found you guilty at the trial. And later when you managed to escape the city jail and call me, saying that we should run away together… I wanted to do that! I knew that it was wrong, but I didn't care! But… my father and Andre found out… and they both somehow convinced me that helping to bring you in would be better for you… that it was the right thing to do. And like an idiot I listened to them, not at all knowing that Andre had framed you…. Leading you into that trap was the hardest thing I ever had to do!"

"It was hard for you?" Marie scoffed with bile in her voice. "How do you think I felt on that day? On that day it felt as if my heart was shattered to pieces…. Do you have any idea what that feels like?"

"I… I have a pretty good idea." Lisa said as if she was on the verge of tears.

"Then prepare to feel even more pain." Marie said coldly. "Go Houndoom!"

From Marie's thrown ball emerged a large black dog with a red snout and underside. Rather than ears it had long white curved back horns, and its tail was slim and had a point at the end like a demon's. On its back were white bands that looked like ribs, and around its neck was another band that had a small skull on the front, giving one the impression that the dog was wearing a collar.

"Use Smog Houndoom!" Marie commanded. Houndoom breathed out a thick purple smoke that caused it to cough. "Now use Crunch!"

From the thick cloud of smog Houndoom suddenly emerged and bit down on Flareon's right side with incredible force. Flareon began to have a hard time standing after the attack and continued to cough.

"Oh dear, it looks like your little friend got poisoned." Marie laughed as Lisa quickly called back Flareon. "Well, that's what happens sometimes when Houndoom uses Smog."

"…Go Ninetales!" Lisa called as she threw out another Pokeball. Emerging from the thrown ball was a large white fox with a silky coat and nine magnificent tails. "Use Confuse Ray!"

Ninetales's eyes began to glow with a yellow light, and in moments it fired a ball of yellow light from its forehead. The ball hit Houndoom in the face and suddenly the black dog began to stagger around.

"Now hit it with Quick Attack again and again!" Lisa commanded.

Ninetales began running around Houndoom at incredible speed, at times disappearing and reappearing. Each time the fox reappeared it tackled into Houndoom. After six or seven attacks Houdoom began to have trouble standing up.

"Finish it with Flamethrower!" Lisa commanded.

Ninetales hit Houndoom with a stream of flames breathed from its mouth. The black dog fell on its left side and was out cold. Marie called Houndoom back to its Pokeball.

"Go… Hydreigon!" Marie called after throwing out another ball.

Emerging from the ball was a large three-headed dragon that was black with a blue underside. It had six black wings that looked a bit like strips of tattered cloth. All three of its faces were blue, and around each of its necks were what could be described as fuchsia-colored flower petals. Its two legs looked as if they had decayed and regressed into simple stocks.

"Dark Pulse!" Marie commanded.

Hydreigon reared back all three of its heads and fired off a barrage of black energy rings at Nintales. The attack impacted with such force that it created a large explosion. When the smoke cleared Ninetales was on its side out cold.

"When I'm through with you I'll make you experience my hell all over again!" Marie declared as Lisa called back Ninetales.

"…Go… Arcanine!" Lisa called out with a sad expression as she threw another Pokeball.

From the thrown ball came a very large red-orange dog with black stripes and a snout, chest, and tail of cream-colored fur. The top of its head was also covered in the same color fur, and tufts of it covered the backs of its legs.

"Attack with Outrage!" Lisa commanded.

Arcanine's eyes began to glow red and its body began to emanate a red aura. It then roared and charged at Hydreigon, tackling it with incredible force. After the attack had hit, Arcanine roared and charged again, once again tackling the dragon.

"A Dragon-type attack to fight a dragon." Marie observed. "Not bad at all, but two can play at that game! Use Outrage Hydreigon!"

Hydreigon's eyes soon began to glow red and its body began to produce a red aura like Arcanine's. The dragon then roared and charged into Arcanine just as the fiery dog charged into it. The two Pokemon then began attacking each other relentlessly, ramming into each other nine or ten times. Eventually they stopped and stared at each other as they panted. Soon both of them fell to the ground unconscious. Lisa and Marie then called the two Pokemon back.

"It's time we ended this dear Lisa!" Marie declared as she threw out another Pokeball. Darkrai emerged from the ball and hovered before Lisa.

"Using Darkrai already, huh?" Lisa observed. "Then in that case… go Entei!"

Emerging from Lisa's ball was a very large brown lion-like creature with a cream-colored underside. Its paws were white and it had a pair of large spiked grey plates on the sides of its back. In between those plates like a cape was something that looked like billowing grey smoke. The creature had an almost mask-like face with a three-pointed yellow plate on its forehead, red plates on the sides, and a white mustache-like plate on the front of its snout.

"Hit Darkrai with Flame Charge!" Lisa commanded.

Entei roared and began charging at the shadowy Pokemon, and as it did its body became shrouded in flames. The beast of flames rammed into Darkrai and the impact created a small explosion. But when the smoke cleared, standing in Darkrai's place was Zoroark. The monster fox chuckled at Entei.

"What the…?" a confused Lisa exclaimed. "Marie, when did you…?"

"What you saw is Illusion, Zoroark's signature ability." Marie explained. "It allows my darling Zoroark to take on other forms. In fact when I found and captured my friend at Scorch Gate when he was just a Zorua, he used his Illusion ability to entertain me and keep me from going mad. Now Zoroark, attack with Night Daze!"

Zoroark's eyes began to glow blue and a massive red aura emerged from its body and cracked the ground around its feet. The monster fox raised its arms and then quickly brought them down, sending a wave of red energy at Entei. The wave hit, and Entei suddenly began moving as if it was dizzy.

"Use Flamethrower!" Lisa commanded. Entei breathed out a stream of flames, but the attack did not hit anywhere near Zoroark. "What?"

"That's what happens sometimes, Night Daze can reduce an enemy's accuracy." Marie explained. "Now Zoroark, hit Entei with Night Slash!"

Zoroark charged at Entei with its claws glowing with a red light. Entei breathed out another stream of flames, but Zoroark easily avoided it. The monster fox got near Entei's left side and began slashing with its glowing claws.

"Use Night Daze again!" Marie commanded.

Zoroark once again began to emanate a powerful red aura. The monster fox brought up its arms again and slammed them back down, sending forth another wave of red energy. Entei was hit by the wave and knocked out. Zoroark roared in triumph as Lisa called Entei back.

"Go… Phoenix!" Lisa called as she threw out the ball that contained her last Pokemon.

Emerging from the ball was a six-foot tall humanoid creature with a red bird-like face and body. It had grey talons for hands, yellow feet, and long blond hair-like feathers that split down the middle like a V.

"Oh, your Blaziken." Marie observed. "I remember when you got it as a Torchic. I even helped you come up with its nickname. We were so close back then… who would've guessed that you'd betray me?"

"…Use Bulk-Up." Lisa commanded with sadness in her voice.

Phoenix cried out and its body began to glow with a red aura. Veins on its arms and legs began to bulge and its body became somewhat more muscular.

"What is this?" Marie asked in a surprised tone.

"Bulk-Up increases the attack and defense power of its user." Lisa explained. "Now Phoenix… Sky Uppercut!"

Phoenix cried out again and charged at Zoroark, forming its right talon into a fist as it did so. Phoenix then hit Zoroark on the jaws with a punch so powerful that it sent the monster fox a few feet in the air. Zoroark hit the ground unconscious.

"You did well my friend." Marie said to Zoroark as she called it back to its ball. She then pulled out another Pokeball. "It's time to end this… go… Darkrai!"

Darkrai emerged from the ball and hovered in front of Phoenix. The shadowy Pokemon glanced at Lisa for a moment before looking back at her Pokemon.

"Attack with Dark Void!" Marie commanded. Darkrai threw a ball of black energy that hit Phoenix faster than it could dodge. Phoenix fell to the ground asleep and was twitching as if it was having a terrible nightmare. "Now Darkrai, use Dream Eater!"

Darkrai brought its arms forward and began to glow with a red aura. The aura around Darkrai then stretched out and extended around Phoenix. The man-bird then began to cry out as if it was in intense pain.

"Yes! That will be your fate dear Lisa!" Marie laughed madly. "That will be what I'll do to you once I'm done with your Pokemon!"

"…And I deserve it." Lisa suddenly said, surprising Marie. "I deserve all the pain you want to inflict on me after the horrible thing I did to you. I helped to send you to a hell that you never deserved to go to, and for that I'm the one who deserves to be punished…. But before you punish me there's something I have to tell you, something I should've told you thirteen years ago."

"W-what're you doing?" Marie asked in a somewhat frightened tone as Lisa suddenly began walking towards her. "Stay back!"

Lisa did not listen to Marie one bit. Instead she came up to Marie and pulled off her mask, carelessly letting it fall to the ground. Lisa then pulled Marie in and planted a firm kiss on Marie's lips, Marie's eyes widened in surprise. After a few moments Lisa broke the kiss and stared into Marie's eyes.

"I love you… Marie." Lisa said to her.

* * *

And we'll leave off there. If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm a fan of the Yuri genre. In the next chapter Andre strikes, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	6. End of Noir Mask

**Author's Note:** I had thought about calling this chapter Death of Noir Mask, but I didn't want to freak anyone out. This part of the story is coming to an end though.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 6: End of Noir Mask

As Darkrai hovered over an unconscious Phoenix, Marie was trying to process what had just happened. Moments ago Lisa had kissed her, and Marie had to admit that it felt amazing. Then Lisa had told Marie that she loved her, and that had caught Marie off guard even more. There was a time when Marie had wanted Lisa to say those words to her, for back in that time Marie had started to feel the same way. In fact Marie had to admit that there was a part of her that still did. Yet she was still mad at Lisa for her betrayal, and with so many conflicting emotions Marie did not know how to react.

"You… what?" Marie finally asked.

"At first I wasn't sure." Lisa admitted. "I mean we were such good friends from the moment we met that I thought that's all it was. But… over time I think I started to see you in a different way. There were times when I couldn't stop thinking about you, especially when I was on my journey traveling around Hoenn. Then on that terrible day when I ended up helping to bring you in… that wasn't just hard for me Marie, it crushed me to do it. It hurt that I was causing you even more pain.

"The guilt I felt after that made it harder to go on. I tried to comfort myself by saying that it was for the best, and that I would see you again one day. But then… on the day I had heard that you died… I was absolutely devastated. And the odd thing is I think it was on that day when I fully realized how much I was in love with you…. Because it hurt so much that I would never see you again.

"It seemed like I couldn't go on after that. The pain of losing you and the guilt over sending you to your death was all too much for me to take. The only thing that kept me going for a while was chasing after Entei. And since that time I've been wandering around Johto, trying to figure out how to keep going on. All that time I've lived with the guilt of what I did. And now… now that I've learned that all I did was help put you in jail for a crime that you didn't commit, and that you've been forced to live a life of hell because of that… I don't blame you for hating me Marie. I deserve every kind of pain you want to inflict on me. I just want you to know how I really feel before you do."

"…No… you're lying!" Marie cried as she pushed Lisa away. "I don't…"

Before Marie could finish she looked into Lisa's eyes and saw a deep sadness that she had never noticed before. That sadness made Marie think that perhaps Lisa was telling the truth, and it confused Marie even more.

"What a nauseating display." A mocking voice interrupted.

Lisa and Marie turned to see Andre standing a few feet away. In his right hand he held a long black and silver trident. The silver grip of the trident had a pair of red buttons on it, and inserted below the fork of the trident was a large blue crystal orb.

"I mean really, I'm all for romance. But that is a little over the top." Andre continued.

"You son of a bitch." Lisa said to Andre in a low hate-filled voice. "You used me to send Marie to jail!"

"Oh, get over it Lisa." Andre said indifferently. "It was nothing personal, I only needed Marie out of the way to get the company. Besides, you've would've gotten her back in ten years if Giovanni hadn't recruited her into Team Rocket."

"Damnit, don't you care at all about the pain you put Marie through?" Lisa demanded.

"Give it up Lisa." Marie suddenly said in a cold tone as she picked up her mask off the ground and put it back on. "This bastard only cares about himself. And now he's going to pay!"

"I think not dear cousin, for I now hold the key to ruling the world." Andre said with an arrogant grin as he pushed the top button on the grip of the trident. The trident began to make an odd humming noise and the orb began to glow with an eerie blue light. "Awaken, Kyogre!"

Suddenly a large blue ship that was docked nearby began to rock and make the noise of buckling metal. Several people abandoned the ship as quickly as they could, all of the wearing Team Aqua uniforms. Bursting forth through the hall was a massive blue and white creature that resembled a killer whale. Its huge pectoral fins resembled wings, and on the end of each one were four white square protrusions that gave the impression of fingers. Running along the creature's body on certain part was a red line, which also formed a unique pattern on its wing-like fins. Kyogre's sunken eyes were glowing with the same blue light coming from the Blue Orb in Andre's trident. Andre laughed evilly as the leviathan splashed into the water of the harbor.

"Now mighty Kyogre! Bring forth a storm the likes of which this world has not seen in millions of years!" Andre commanded.

The red lines on Kyogre's body began to glow as it cried out. Thick black clouds suddenly covered the sky, and soon a torrential rain began to pour down. In moments a powerful wind whipped up and began to rock the waves of the ocean, causing the docked ships to start banging against the harbor. Lightning began to flash in the distance and the sound of thunder echoed all around.

"At last the seas are mine!" Andre laughed. "And with them the world!"

Andre was interrupted when a massive bolt of yellow lightning shot down from the sky and hit Kyogre, causing the whale to cry out in pain. Lisa, Marie, and Andre all looked up and saw Ho-Oh emerge from the clouds with Ash, Misty, Pikachu, and Lucario still riding on its back. Pikachu's cheeks were still sparking from the attack it had just hit Kyogre with.

"Well, you're certainly full of surprises Mr. Ketchum!" Andre called up. "But you're far too late to stop me!"

"Why are you doing all this?" Ash demanded.

"Why? To become ruler of the world!" Andre boasted as if it was obvious. "My late father Nero always told me that whoever controls the ocean controls the world. I control Kyogre, and Kyogre controls the seas! Therefore, I am now the absolute king of the world, able to control its ebb and flow! This has always been my dream, and everything I have done has been to see that it comes true!"

"Well, I can see that this is going nowhere. Pikachu, hit Kyogre again with Thunder!" Ash commanded.

"Pik… a… CHUUUUU!" Pikachu cried out as it fired off another massive bolt of lightning. The second attack hit Kyogre and caused the leviathan to cry out.

"You're not the only one with that little trick! Kyogre, strike back at them with Thunder!" Andre commanded.

Kyogre cried out again, and in moments it fired a bolt of blue lightning into the air. Moments later, several blue lightning bolts rained back down. One of them hit Ho-Oh in the left wing, but the great bird somehow managed to stay in the air. Back down on the ground, another of the bolts of lightning hit Darkrai and knocked it to the ground. Marie went over to check on Darkrai and saw that the shadowy Pokemon was still conscious but injured.

"Sorry about that cousin." Andre called over insincerely. "I wasn't aiming at your friend there. But it does save me a little trouble later I suppose."

"You heartless monster." Marie said in a low hate-filled voice. "I'll make you pay!"

Suddenly Marie charged at Andre as if she was about to tackle him. But Andre quickly swung the base of his trident into Marie's face, splitting her mask in half and knocking her to the ground a few feet away. In an instant Lisa ran over to Marie's side. Lisa was relieved to see that Marie had only been knocked out.

"Well that was pointless." Andre laughed. "Not to mention a tad overdramatic."

Andre was interrupted from his boasting by the sudden riff of an electric guitar. He turned to see Bolt standing not too far away.

"Oh, I see the rock star has come to interfere with my plans as well." Andre observed in an annoyed tone. "And I was thinking of letting you survive the flood."

"I'm flattered dude, but your little flood's not gonna happen." Bolt told him. "Let's rock Raikou!"

From Bolt's thrown Pokeball emerged a large yellow saber-toothed tiger with black stripes. It had a black crest covering its forehead and a blue X on its snout, covering its nose. On its back like a cape was something that looked like a purple thundercloud, and its tail looked like a blue lightning bolt hitting the ground.

"Not put down the pitchfork and back away slowly." Bolt ordered Andre. "Otherwise Raikou and I are gonna have to make you put it down."

"Do you actually think I'm threatened by you?" Andre said with an arrogant sneer. "I control one of the strongest Pokemon in existence! If I wanted to I could have him wash this entire city away in an instant!"

"Two problems with psycho. One, you'd be washed away too." Bolt pointed out. "And two, if I know my buddy Ash, he's about to wrap things up with that big Pokemon of yours."

Up in the air, Ho-Oh flew closer to Kyogre. The great leviathan opened its mouth and fired of a white beam of electricity. Ho-Oh narrowly dodged the attack however.

"Enough playing around! Use Sunny Day Ho-Oh!" Ash commanded.

Ho-Oh began to glow with a golden aura, and suddenly it shot a beam of gold light up into the air. The clouds broke apart and the fierce storm had instantly come to an end, revealing a clear and bright sunny sky. A rainbow appeared in the distance over the sea.

"Impossible!" a shocked Andre called up. "Nothing can stop the power of Kyogre!"

"Not necessarily nothing." Ash told him. "Kyogre may have the ability to cause storms, but I was hoping that Ho-Oh's Sunny Day attack could still change the weather and increase the power of Ho-Oh's moves like usual. Looks like I was right. Let's finish it Ho-Oh, use Solar Beam!"

Ho-Oh reared back its head and fired a beam of concentrated sunlight from its open beak. The beam hit Kyogre in the face with incredible force. It seemed like the leviathan did not have much fight left.

"Now's my chance to try out one of the Pokeballs I bought at the department store!" Misty suddenly announced. From her pocket she pulled out a Pokeball that was green on top and had a navy-blue net design. "Net Ball, go!"

Misty threw the ball at Kyogre. The ball hit the leviathan in the face and sucked it in. The ball floated in the water as the red light on the front flashed. After what seemed like an eternity the light stopped flashing and the ball made the noise signally that the capture was complete.

"Yes! I caught Kyogre!" Misty happily exclaimed as she pumped her fist in the air. Ash, Pikachu, Lucario, and even Ho-Oh all looked at the floating ball in surprise.

"What the…? You decided to catch it?" Ash exclaimed in a shocked tone.

"Well it stopped Kyogre, didn't it?" Misty pointed out. "Besides, how could I pass up the chance to catch such a powerful Water Pokemon?"

"Fine, whatever." Ash sighed. "Let's just grab that ball before Andre decides to swim out for it."

As Ho-Oh descended close enough for Misty to retrieve her newly captured titan, Andre looked over the ocean in utter shock and disbelief.

"How can this be?" Andre asked himself. "It's not possible…. Kyogre was mine! How could they capture it like that?"

"Andre!" a voice suddenly said. Andre turned to see Marie back on her feet glaring at him. "Experience my hell!"

Darkrai suddenly floated up behind Andre. Andre turned to see Darkrai glaring at him, its single visible eye started to glow blood red. Grasping the terror of the situation, Andre began running away as fast as his legs could carry him. Meanwhile, Darkrai rose several feet in the air and raised its arms up. Between its hands that shadowy Pokemon formed a ball of black energy that started to grow until it was as big as a house.

"DARK VOID!" Darkrai cried in a deep, whispery, and distorted voice as it threw the sphere at Andre.

In seconds the sphere engulfed Andre and quickly shrunk down, taking Andre's shape before vanishing. Andre fell to the ground unconscious, dropping the trident in the process. Upon hitting the ground the trident shorted out, causing the Blue Orb to shatter. Ho-Oh landed near Andre and Ash, Misty Pikachu, and Lucario dismounted. Bolt and Raikou joined them as they looked at the fallen Andre. The defeated mastermind twitched and squirmed violently in his sleep, indicating he was having a very horrible nightmare.

"You know I hate to say it, but it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy." Bolt observed.

"You said it." Ash agreed.

The group turned to look over at Lisa and Marie. Marie stood there in shock, looking at the broken pieces of her mask.

"Marie?" Lisa suddenly spoke up. "You okay?"

"My mask… it's broken." Marie said in a sort of dazed tone.

"You don't need it anymore." Lisa said as she hugged Marie from behind. "You don't need to hide behind that mask and pretend you're something you're not. You can just be you again."

After a few moments Marie let the pieces of the mask fall to the ground and turned around in Lisa's arms. She looked into Lisa's eyes for several moments before hesitantly moving her face in closer. And before long the two were locked in a deep kiss. Ash, Pikachu, Lucario, and Bolt all stared at the site with jaws hanging open.

"Wow, those two really are close friends, aren't they?" Bolt observed, not once turning his eyes away.

"You can't get much closer than that." Ash agreed, also unable to turn away.

"Oh grow up you idiots." Misty told them as she rolled her eyes.

* * *

The few days that followed were eventful to say the least. The scandal of Andre's criminal deeds had become the main subject of the news. As was Marie's sudden resurrection, which had been quit difficult for Desmond and the PR department of the Dantes Corporation to explain. They of course did not mention that Marie had been Noir Mask, though no one beyond the criminal underworld had even heard of Noir Mask anyway. Either way though, Marie had been doing everything she could to stay out of the spotlight.

Andre had been placed in the hospital under police guard. The extra powerful Dark Void attack that Darkrai had used on him had put him in a sort of nightmarish coma that showed no signs of ending in the near future. As for Giovanni, Archie, and Shelly, the police had quickly found them still unconscious at the Dantes Corporation only half an hour after Marie had broadcast Andre's unknowing confession. The three of them, plus the unconscious Rocket and Aqua grunts that had been found with them, all woke up in jail two hours later. With Archie and Giovanni behind bars, Team Aqua was finished and Team Rocket was sure to begin crumbling.

Five days after the incident, Lisa was out in front of the Flare mansion with Ash, Misty, and Bolt. Lisa had already sent out Rapidash and was waiting next to it.

"So where are you and Marie headed?" Ash asked Lisa. "Are you going back to Johto?"

"No, I thought we'd go to Sinnoh for awhile." Lisa answered. "I've never been there before. And I figured it might be a good place for Marie and I to try and get a fresh start. Though I'm not really sure it will work out."

"Well, she agreed to go with you." Misty pointed out. "So I'm sure she probably still loves you."

"I hope so." Lisa sighed. "But she's been mad at me for so long though. Then again she is willing to try. That's something anyway."

A moment later the door to the mansion opened and Marie walked out with Desmond. Marie's new outfit consisted of a black sleeveless shirt under a black zip-up vest, long black pants with black shoes, and thick sunglasses. A large black bag was slung over her shoulder.

"Are you certain you wish to turn over control of the company to me?" Desmond asked Marie as they walked up to the group. "After all, it does rightfully belong to you."

"Contrary to what my bastard of a cousin thought, I never had any desire to run the company." Marie told him. "Besides, I'm sure my father would want you to run it."

"Well then, the thing left for me to say is that I'm sorry for what happened Marie." Desmond replied. "I never even suspected that Andre had framed you to get the company. And I'm ashamed to admit that I let my feelings about your relationship with Lisa cloud my judgment. I hope you'll forgive me one day."

"…We'll see." Marie said coldly. Marie then stopped in front of Lisa and Rapidash.

"Ready to go?" Lisa asked.

"I think so." Marie answered. With that, Lisa got on Rapidash's back, and Marie got on behind her.

"Have a safe trip you two." Desmond said to them.

"Thanks dad." Lisa replied. "We might be back in a few months once the heat from the press dies down."

"You girls have a good trip." Ash said to them. "I hope we'll meet again soon."

"Me too." Lisa replied. After a moment Rapidash began a slow trot away from the house. The group stood and watched for a while as the riders faded into the distance.

"You think they'll be okay?" Misty asked Ash.

"Well, they probably have a rough journey ahead," Ash began, "but I'm sure it'll all turn out okay for them in the end."

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Author's Note:** I think my favorite part of writing this chapter was the battle with Kyogre. Though I did really enjoy writing the part where Darkrai attacked Andre too. But Kyogre is one of my absolute favorite Legendary Pokemon from generation three, aside from Deoxys and Registeel. And one of the reasons I had Misty catch Kyogre is to set up the plot of another story I plan to do in the future. Anyway, the revenge has come to an end, but this story isn't over yet. Marie's life as Noir Mask may have ended, but her relationship with Lisa still isn't resolved. And that's what the next story is about.

Next comes the final part of the Noir Mask Trilogy: **Half Moon Bay**

So stay tuned, but I warn you all now that Half Moon Bay will have an M rating because parts of it will be, um... steamy. In the meantime though, please review and let me know what you think.


End file.
